Huge win for car owners! All TSBs to be made public.
The Center for Auto Safety just made the NHTSA (US Government) make public the full text of all TSBs from now on. They are the same organization that has petitioned the NHTSA & filed lawsuits to protect car owners over exploding gas tanks & other major safety issues.
Whenever you drive in your car, you are safer thanks in part to a lot of work over the years by this small but very effective consumer advocacy group.

V70

V70 5-cyl

Automatic transmission

80,030 miles

Car's check engine light came on while on interstate at 65 mph. Drove car additional 15 minutes to get home. Followed on-dash & owner's manual instructions to get checked at earliest convenience. Car broke down next day on way to mechanic. Car bucked and surged, decelerating and acculturating without any warning. Cel came on. Display read "performance reduced". could go no faster than 20-25 mph. In no position to stop vehicle. On busy road with no usable shoulder. Car required towing. Onboard diagnostics (obd) said thermostat was bad, but mechanic suspected failed ETM. He said this is a known issue with car. The thermostat was replaced. Car was drivable. Used approximately 5 miles more. Car broke down on way home, stranding me in intersection. Same issue. Car went into "limp home" mode. Shut it off. After five minutes, car returned to normal operation. Was able to drive back to mechanic. This time obd reported tell-tale codes for failed ETM. Electronic throttle module was replaced at total cost of $1200. I phoned stillman Volvo where I purchased the car. They denied knowledge of any widespread, well-known issue regarding ETM on 2001 Volvo. I called Volvo America customer care and they acknowledged a NHTSA investigation underway and that they hoped to have a resolution in a couple of weeks. The representative, however, told me that it would be unlikely that I would get any cost assistance from Volvo or my Volvo dealership since I had the work done by an independent mechanic. I am filing this complaint because I did a little research on-line with other Volvo owners. I now understand that Volvo America has known about this issue for years and has not issued a recall. I am upset regarding their statement regarding independent mechanics. But I am furious that this car manufacturer would risk the lives of their customers and their passengers by failing to take action on this issue.

V70 5-cyl

Automatic transmission

64,900 miles

For several months prior to failure, engine torque would fluctuate at steady highway speeds with or without cruise control on. Although it did not affect the speed of the vehicle visibly, I could feel it in the seat of my pants. After getting off of the highway (in a bad detroit neighborhood and in the middle of an intersection), the engine failed to accelerate the car and the information display indicated "performance reduced." I proceeded five miles to my home at no more than 10-20 mph which was all the car could muster. The car restarted normally the following morning and I was able to take it to the dealer. The dealer replaced the electronic throttle module and associated gaskets along with a software upgrade for approx. $1062

V70 5-cyl

Automatic transmission

8,000 miles

At about 8,000 miles, my 2001 (purchased summer 2002) Volvo V70 suddenly stopped when I slowed down on a road near my home. The car restarted, but did not seem to have the same pick-up as before. I subsequently took the car into the Volvo dealership and was told the throttle mechanism needed cleaning. After this was done, the car seemed fine for several months. At about 15,000 miles, the same thing happened on a difference stretch of road. The seemed weaker than before and it took longer to restart. The Volvo dealership again diagnosed a dirty throttle, cleaned it, and returned it to me. The car seemed normal until about 24,000 miles, when I was unable to start the car after it had been parked for about two hours. This time, I tried many times to start the vehicle, but ultimately had to call a tow truck. It was towed to Volvo, where they told it was a throttle problem again. After cleaning, it appeared normal. The car is currently at about 30,000 miles, but I take it in every three months to get the throttle mechanism cleaned as a precaution.

V70

Automatic transmission

51,313 miles

2001 Volvo station wagon V70. Vehicle stalled/died and lost power while driving at 25 mph. Throttle body sensor was replaced. The upper engine mount broke and oil leaked from the turbo return line seals.

V70 6-cyl

Automatic transmission

58,920 miles

We purchased our 2001 Volvo V70 station wagon 12 March and have since had the car into the dealer 3 times for problems with the transmision. It stalls and tends to not gain speed. We had it serviced 2 times and this last time that stated they replaced it. We are still experiencing the same problem with the engine though.

V70

miles

Heard loud "knocking" when turning right and left, decelerating, and entering/exiting parking lots. Took car to dealership three times and told nothing was wrong. It was simply a very heavy car and might make that noise in those circumstances. Problem worsened. Took to independent mechanic and he found broken motor mounts which left engine sitting on top of steering column. He stated it was a design flaw that has now damaged the steering and possibly alignment, suspension, etc. Also noted that placement of engine on top of steering column will probably cause the motor mounts to break again within six months.

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